It’s 2am and I’m twenty miles out to sea. It’s my shift so I’m alone in the wheelhouse lit only by the instruments on the helm and staring out at the black...
Amidst the distracted haze which served as my 9th grade, I remember religiously taking notes about the House of Tudor for Mr. Topka’s History class since he would run out with us...
It was a love of literature that brought me to education. I was a freshman at the University of CT, following a path to become a physical therapist. Along with a heavy...
Education, to me, is life itself, like breathing, and I realize that it usually involves meaningful questions. It certainly doesn’t exist solely, or even primarily, in a classroom. I remember someone telling...
My early educational experiences were remarkably typical for the early 1970s – the baby boom had ended, and public schools everywhere were closing due to low enrollment. Throughout elementary school, my class...
Anyone who has a big sister can probably relate. As a little kid, I looked up to my sister and assumed that anything she said was gospel. So when faced with the...
I grew up an only child, always extremely aware of the microscope through which my parents constantly observed me. Our household was clean, orderly, and calm, and perhaps as a result, I...
When I was in fifth grade, I learned to whistle. My friends were impressed. My parents were impressed. My teacher, Mrs. Quevedo, was less impressed. I whistled in class constantly. I recently...
Every first day of school throughout my life, I had the same routine: throw up and sob uncontrollably. You see, I never much liked school. My anxiety around it was all consuming-...
Sarah’s Perspective I guess I’d say I’m the luckiest of recipients of what, in its most ideal form, education is meant to do. Education deserves the recognition, not me, for facilitating my...
With students of all ages now having to study at home for the foreseeable future, families are understandably questioning how they are going to survive. With many parents having to work remotely,...
Brendon and Don presented to admissions officers and fellow educational consultants at the national IECA conference this week. Brendon spoke about students navigating gap years and executive functioning challenges, while Don moderated...
McMillan Education is hosting 3 more Boarding School Fairs this month involving over 40 top schools in the Northeast. Write kelly@mcmillaneducation.com for more info. Thursday, June 18 Mid-Atlantic/NY Boarding School Fair 6:30-8:00...
Invariably I begin Zoom calls with my shelter-at-home high school juniors with some variation of, “How is online schooling treating you?” With few exceptions, my kids, particularly those enrolled at boarding schools...
The real adventure of any gap year is facing a vast array of choices, making a bold move in one direction at a time, and then getting real-world feedback in the form...
Invariably I begin Zoom calls with my shelter-at-home high school juniors with some variation of, “How is online schooling treating you?” With few exceptions, my kids, particularly those enrolled at boarding schools...
Hello, fellow parents. How are you doing there in your homes with your children? The first few weeks were an interesting experiment. The novelty has worn off, hasn’t it? Memes are starting...
As a therapist these days,I find myself doing therapy not in my cozy office on campus with my pooch by my side excited to greet my kids as they enter, but instead...
Rooms rearranged, desks cleared off, pencils sharpened…we were ready for the first day of school. And then, Isabelle’s bridge broke and her tooth fell out. Second from the right. The floodgates opened....
Hello from Providence, RI where I’m quarantining with my husband (an infectious diseases doctor on the front line of this COVID crisis) and my three daughters: a college sophomore, a high school...
First things first, I have to confess: Although my husband and I are both educators, we have chosen not to impose a militarily strict schedule upon our captives children. We are not...
After weeks of waiting, March 10 finally arrives and throngs of aspiring independent school candidates learn their fate. Predictably, there is elation for the admitted, and sorrow for the denied. But for...
When tried and true rules of promoting healthy child and adolescent development no longer seem to apply, revisiting the past is not such a bad idea after all As I’ve gotten older,...
Suzie’s C in sophomore English and so-so essay led to each admissions officer’s right hand going up after hearing the proposed “Deny?” But Alfonzo’s compelling first-generation essay and transcript full of As...
